


Deadbeat with dreams

by gotsichi7



Series: not so drabble [2]
Category: GOT7
Genre: 2jae fill in the blanks of Mark's life, M/M, Mark basically falls in love with his own character, Mark is a deadbeat but he is creative, Mark is a little delusional, Mark works in a convinience store, There is implied sex, but it's almost not there, film maker Mark, i guess this is sort of inspired by ruby sparks, markson, rated just to be safe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-10
Updated: 2017-02-10
Packaged: 2018-09-23 07:13:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9645866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gotsichi7/pseuds/gotsichi7
Summary: Jackson was part of Mark’s dream that was too good to be true.





	

**Author's Note:**

> **prompt** :
>
>> _“when all else fails, at least there is you” “No matter where i go you are there” and “In the dead of the night, you are the only thing real to me"_
> 
> this was posted on [my tumblr](http://gotsichi7.tumblr.com/) to fulfill the request.

There was a reason why Mark Tuan was a quiet man. People like Mark lived in their thoughts and out of all the thoughts that run through Mark’s head only 5% ever gets to see the light of day. To strangers, Mark is a dreamer; a visionary mind that can utilize his brain capacity with the gift of his creativity. . In the daylight, Mark makes short films with a second-hand camera. He writes the scripts and pitches his ideas to the people he knows would love to work on it and he shoots it.

Though, to the people around him, he was a deadbeat.

Mark worked part-time in a 24-hour convenience store. He works the night shift because it’s rarely crowded in the dead of the night and it gives room to his dreams. In the quiet of the empty convenience store is usually where he found most of his inspiration. The short films he shoots make it on his YouTube that has a number of avid subscribers and allows him to expand his budget. It’s not enough to pay for bills but it’s enough to pay the actors, editors, sound engineers and everything else is decided accordingly. Film is where his passion lays. Film is what he daydreams about.

It is on one particularly boring shift that he dreams up a groundbreaking character. He had been having a writer’s block for months. All his scripts scraped. All his inspirations dry.

But then Jackson just comes to him. A young man, who unlike him, was loud, outgoing and sociable.

He imagined Jackson with brown hair, round, dark brown eyes and a sharp jaw line. He thinks Jackson would work out because Jackson cared about his health and felt good about himself. However, Jackson would wear caps because he worried his face wasn’t as good as his body. Ideas of what Jackson might be like came to pouring to him like an avalanche.

He had thought of who Jackson was everyday for the next few weeks. At first, Jackson was a superficial character. Mark had thought about the basics. The four poles of characteristics that held up Jackson was family, career, insecurities and determination. Jackson’s family was his source of determination. He was a people person who could make best friends out of strangers in a heartbeat. His career as an athlete disciplined him and affected his determination pole. In whatever Jackson did, he never half-assed it. And it whatever he did, his insecurity of his physical attributes and lack of confidence will limit him.

But just knowing that wasn’t enough for Mark.

He would arrange the biscuits during his shift and wondered what sort of biscuits Jackson loved. He would walk to work and wondered if Jackson skateboarded. He would wake up to make his coffee and wonder if Jackson preferred tea to coffee. He thought of Jackson to a personal level because Jackson was all he could think about. Jackson was all that mattered. At some point of the process Mark had a solid view of who Jackson was.

So much so that, when his shift ends and he is back home, tucked into the warm sheets of his bed he has a conversation with Jackson. Yes, Mark Tuan creates dialogues of him talking to the character he had created in his visionary mind.

Mark convinces himself that this was all part of the writing process. He asked Jackson questions and thought of how Jackson would reply them. He asked about how Jackson would react to different situations and circumstances. He wanted to know about Jackson as a person. As crazy as that sounds.

It’s all really just part of the writing process. After all, a good character was the foundation to a good story.

_What do you think of my life, Jackson?_

> _You try your best, Mark-hyung, and that is something I respect._

_Would you introduce me to your parents?_

> _I would proudly introduce you to them._

His parents had became part of their conversations so many times. Jackson would talk about his first times and all the reasons why he works so hard in his fencing. He was a Olympic gold medallist. Jackson talked about school and how he was brought up.

Jackson was becoming real to Mark.

They had inside jokes. Mark told Jackson about how his parents think he was a waste of space. Mark told Jackson about his first heartbreak. He told Jackson about how he got into film. They talked and flirted. They talked in the middle of the night as Mark stared at the stars in the night sky.

_I think I’m in trouble, Jackson_

> _Why?_

_I think, I’m falling in love with you_

> _But I’m not real_

_In the dead of the night, you are the only thing real to me._

“Mark-hyung,” Mark snapped around to find Youngjae looking at him suspiciously. “Who are you talking to?”

“I’m just going through a script I’m working on” Mark mumbled too fast. Youngjae probably couldn’t hear what he was saying.

Mark was going crazy. He was falling in love with a figment of his imagination. He knew he was crazy. Jackson wasn’t real. He was just a daydream. So Mark tried to rationalize himself.

He tried to forget Jackson which was proven hard. Every time he looked at himself in the mirror he thought he saw Jackson. Every time he closed his eyes he would see Jackson looking at him with a sad expression. Sometimes he would be walking to work and he was sure he saw Jackson walking past him.

Jackson, the figment of his imagination, was haunting him.

“Working on anything new?” Jaebum asked on one of his visits to the convenience store. Jaebum was a regular during his shift; always the one to enjoy a midnight snack.

“I had an idea awhile ago. It’s probably not good enough”

“Why is it not good enough?”

“The character was too good to be true. Everything needs limitations”

“Sometimes limitations just put you in a box, Mark. Maybe try thinking outside the box once and awhile”

Mark didn’t really think much of Jaebum’s words until he was tucked in bed. Maybe Jaebum was right, maybe he felt Jackson was too good to be real but maybe, just maybe, he didn’t need to be real. Jackson was real to him and that was probably all that mattered.

_I missed you_

Mark thinks of how a smile would display itself on Jackson’s face. He imagines how Jackson would bring him into his arms. He imagines how Jackson’s lips would taste on his own. He imagines what it would feel like to have Jackson’s muscular body flushed on his own; heat exuding through thin clothing or even better skin to skin. He imagined what it would feel like to have his perfect lips on more places than just his own lips.

Any previous inhibition Mark had towards falling in love with Jackson was demolished. Mark was a quiet man who lived in his thoughts and only 5% of those thoughts actually made it out of his mind. Jackson, however, may never make it out. He wants to keep Jackson to himself because when all else fails, at least, there would be Jackson waiting for him.

Days turns to weeks and weeks turns to months. He covers for Youngjae’s day shift on an odd Tuesday because Youngjae fell sick. It was weird working in the day because there was always someone in the store and Mark isn’t quite used to being busy during work.

“You’re new, aren’t you?” Small talk was something night customers rarely engaged in. In the day shift though, it was almost like a requirement. “I’ve never seen you before”

“I usually work the night shift” Mark said, not bothering to look at the customer’s face as he busied himself with scanning the juices he was buying.

“Is Youngjae sick?” the customer was obviously a regular. He knew Youngjae was supposed to work today.

“Yeah, he…” Mark’s mouth hangs open when he finally glanced at the customer. Now, he was blatantly staring.

In front of Mark’s eyes, stood Jackson. His eyes round and dark brown exactly like Mark had imagined it. He wore a black snapback and an overly sized t-shirt. He froze as he anticipated Mark to finish his sentence. But all thoughts have left Mark.

_Am I dreaming?_

“Are you ok?” the man asked with concerned eyes. Mark wasn’t sure his name was Jackson. It might not be, for all he knows. The man waved his hand slightly at Mark’s dazed expression as he squints at Mark’s nametag. “Mark-sshi?”

Mark’s heart fluttered at the way his name rolled of his tongue. It was much better than he imagined. It was much better than he had ever thought.

“Who are you?” Mark stuttered, too lost for any other words.

“Hi, my name is Jackson Wang”


End file.
